Monday, June 02, 2014

Stone Soup study club 10 / 石頭湯讀書會之十


石頭湯讀書會第十場的講者是著名的童書作家兼畫家:王金選老師。老師的「紅龜粿」在台灣兒童繪本史上已經是屹立不搖的經典,書中收錄的台語創作詩謠也是學習台語很好的入門。

The tenth speaker of the Stone Soup study club is the renowned Taiwanese author and illustrator, Mr. Wang Gin-hsuen. The book Red Turtle Cake, a collection of children's poetry written in Taiwanese written by Mr. Wang, is a classic in children's literature here in Taiwan. In fact, the book is also a great way to learn basic Taiwanese. 

每一位學員進門時,老師都在門口迎接,問大家的名字,我和老師說之前去參加信誼頒獎典禮學到的東西,因為老師也在場,便和我聊到自己的經驗:老師一開始以畫圖為主,他覺得自己的文字很弱,所以刻意練習,尤其是童詩書寫,想不到進入文壇的第一份作品居然是童詩寫作,接下來老師又嘗試以台語書寫童詩,引起很大的迴響,但同時老師都沒有放棄畫畫,慢慢地終於有機會為自己的作品繪圖。這再次讓我學到,我應該要多方嘗試,不要拒絕各種可能性。

Before the speech, Mr. Wang welcomes every guest at the door, asking what our names are. I mention the lessons I  learned while attending the award ceremony of Hsin-y Children's Book Foundation in April. Since he was also there that day, he immediately shares his own life experiences with me. Mr. Wang says that he's loved drawing since childhood, but meanwhile he was aware of his weakness in writing, which inspired him to practice, especially writing children's poetry. Amazingly, his first book is actually a collection of children's poetry. Then, it occurred to him to write children's poems in Taiwanese, and his works received rave reviews. However, he never gave up drawing, and as time went by, he finally had opportunities to write and illustrate his own works. The talk teaches me that I should try different media whether words or images instead of excluding any possibility. 



王老師一面分享自己的創作經驗,一面教授寫作和插畫的基本技巧,是很激勵人心的一場演講。以下我將重點分成勵志和實用兩大類。

During the talk, Mr. Wang focuses on his career as a writer and illustrator and teaches us basic skills of writing and drawing. I have to say that this is certainly an extremely inspirational talk. I am going to divide the key points of his talk into two main categories: 

勵志類:
一、不斷寫、不斷畫,我就是純粹喜歡。想到什麼寫什麼,小筆記本裡寫滿了文字。
二、學會縮短難過的時間,要檢討失敗的作品,下次再努力,越挫越勇!
三、要讓人感動就要很投入,除了畫面外也要投入心思。
四、把握機會:老師說到曾經為了參加比賽,四天畫兩本繪本!
五、人只要受到鼓勵就會有繼續的力量!
六、求進步方法之一:研究別人的作品。

Inspirational:
1. Never stop writing and drawing. I do it simply because I love it. I fill my journal with words because I write down whatever comes to mind.
2. Don't brood over my failures for too long. I go over my works to see how I can do better, and I'll work harder next time.
3. If we want to move people, we have to be involved. It's important for the viewer/reader to feel our sincerity.
4. Seize opportunities: I once created two picture books within four days!
5. As long as we are encouraged, we can go on and on and on!
6. One of the best tips in making progress is researching others' works.

實用類:
一、練習寫童詩:寫作技巧─找出兩件不同的東西之間共通的特性,寫完試唸。不論是用哪種語言書寫,可以先排出韻腳字。童詩可以和童謠、兒歌、打油詩結合,要兼顧淺白、親切、活潑、生動、自然。每次老師收到寫一首童詩的邀約,總會先寫很多首練習。
二、趣味性:兒童文學的文字不能太白,要有趣味性。
三、兒歌是童話的大綱:把兒歌進一步發揮成有主角、情境、對話的故事,背後隱藏教育話題就是童話。但童話和繪本的寫法是一樣的,都必須有起承轉合。
四、繪本可以帶入生活的場景和內容、人的心態和情感加上童話的想像。
五、在圖像的表達上,文字提到的及文字沒有提到的都可以放進去,並且畫附近相關的場景。
六、世界上所有的圖像都可以用幾何圖形表達。
七、兒童圖畫書的圖像不一定要講究技法高超,因為圖像是以說明性的功能為主,帶著畫者手繪的拙趣和個性。
八、畫圖講究的是美感和耐心,技巧不好可以用耐心打動別人,該寫實的時候寫實,該放鬆時放鬆。

Practical:
1. Try writing children's poetry: First, look for what's in common between two objects which appear to be different. Read a poem aloud after finishing it. Whichever language we write in, it helps to look for the rhyming words. We can derive ideas for children's poems from children's folk rhymes, children songs, nursery rhymes, and doggerels. It's essential to make sure if our writing is easily understandable, approachable, lively and natural. Whenever I am invited to write a poem, I'll write several as part of the exercise.
2. Fun: The key spirit of children's literature is its fun.
3. Children's songs are the outline of children's tales. Develop the songs into stories with main characters, settings, dialogs and educational value. Yet, the skills of writing tales and picture books are the same--there has to be a beginning, rising action, climax and resolution.
4. We can insert life experiences and add imagined plots in the creation of picture books.
5. When it comes to images, they can tell stories whether mentioned or not mentioned in the text. Also, we can draw the settings.
6. All the shapes and forms in the world can be broken down into basic geometric forms.
7. The images in picture books do not have to be especially sophisticated in terms of skills. In fact, the pictures are explanatory, and they should come with the idiosyncratic qualities of the illustrator.
8. Drawing is about its aesthetic value and the patience of the artist. If we are not good, our patience can move the viewer as well. When it's time to draw realistically, we should go for it. Nonetheless, we should also know when and how to relax.





老師不吝和大家分享自己作畫的過程,在底稿之前都是無盡的打草稿和練習,其實在老師積極樂觀的演講背後是很謹慎、充滿耐力的創作精神!

Mr. Wang doesn't hesitate to show his originals. Before the final draft, there are always endless trials and errors. I can feel behind his sunny optimism lies a super self-demanding and persevering soul. 

聽完演講之後我和老師說,老師人生故事的前半段就是我的經歷,老師鼓勵我一直畫下去,我因此得到很多能量!

After the talk, I tell Mr. Wang that I am experiencing the first half of his story, which is full of frustrations and failures. He encourages to keep drawing, which really gives me loads of positive energy!

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